News

New GM for PWL Cold Lake

May 15th, 2019

The new General Manager of Points West Living Cold Lake is a multi-talented Newfoundlander who finds his new community much to his liking. Peter Walsh, an LPN with 10-years experience moved to Cold Lake a year ago to take on the PWL Wellness Supervisor position, and when the General Manager role opened up, he was ready for the challenge.

All in the family

Peter hails from the town of Grand Falls-Windsor in north-central Newfoundland. After training and working as an apprentice electrician for several years, including time in the oil sands of Fort McMurray, his company was facing a downturn and would longer cover employees’ commute between Newfoundland to Alberta. So, he says, “I decided to bite the bullet and get into the family business,” by which he means, nursing.

Float nurse for everything

Both his mother and grandmother were Registered Nurses, and Peter undertook his LPN studies at the College of the North Atlantic in Stephenville Newfoundland. He worked with Newfoundland’s Central Health for 10 years, “primarily in acute care, but also as a float nurse for everything from ER to surgery, to medicine and special projects.”

"I was in the air on 9/11"

As a teen Peter was very active in air cadets, achieving his commercial pilot’s licence at the Gander flight training school. He had wanted to make a career of flying, but the events of September 11, 2001 put the brakes on pilot opportunities for a time. “I was in the air on 9/11,” he says. “Our flight school helped with the stranded passengers.” Seven-thousand passengers in a town of 10,000, and the selfless spirit of the region is now legendary.

Family life

Peter has instilled his love of the air cadet experience and flying in his three children. “My three kids go to the school at the Art Smith Aviation Academy at CFB Cold Lake.” His wife works at a local furniture store, and her parents have just made the move from Newfoundland to remain close to the family. Peter looks forward to fishing with his father-in-law, and perhaps getting back into volunteering with land search and rescue – once he finds the time.

Great group of care partners

Peter is excited by the opportunities at PWL Cold Lake. “I think we have a great group of care partners. We have a lot of things we can work on, and we all seem to have the same goal, which is to see that the residents are cared for and looked after,” he says. “My goal is to have everybody work together and to make sure that PWL Cold Lake is an amazing community that residents are proud to call home and care partners are proud to say they work here.”